BRÂU

Other name: Brao

Population

313 people

Locality

Dak Me Village, Bo Y Commune, Ngoc Hoi District, Kon Tum Province.

Customs & Habits

The Brau have a tradition of tattooing their faces and bodies and filing their teeth. They live in houses on stilts. Young men and women are free to choose their partners. The bride’s family organize the wedding ceremony. In addition, the groom must live with his wife’s family for several years before bringing his wife and children home.

Culture

The Brau language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group. The Brau like to play the gongs and traditional musical instruments. In particular, a set of two gongs called the chieng tha has great value in their culture. Young girls often play Krong Put, a musical instrument that consists of 5-7 bamboo tubes, both long and short, which are joined together. The sound is produced when the air is forced into them by the clapping of the hands.

Costumes

Women wear a lot of jewellery around their arms, ankles, and necks. Men often wear loincloths and women wear pagnes.

Economy

The Brau have led a nomadic life for a very long time, but also practice slash-and-burn cultivation in order to grow rice, corn, and cassava using rudimentary tools.